Homeward Bound

Our last day proved to be our toughest, most stressful day. It started peacefully with a late breakfast. Then we walked to the nearby Hong Kong Museum of Art. They had an excellent exhibit on Chinese porcelain from 3000 BC to the last dynasty. It was interesting to see the sophistication of the early pieces primarily used in burials up the the multicolored porcelains of recent years. There was also an exhibit of how Chinese artists tried to copy western techniques for paintings for export. The exhibit displayed how paintings became more sophisticated over time: lighting, shadows, perspective, how motion was represented, etc It was a great art education - they did it by comparing two paintings of similar scenes next to each other and noting the differences. The final exhibit was a special - a huge show of Andy Warhol art. Boy, was he a self-centered buy with numerous self-portraits as well as many of his famous studies: Marilyn Monroe, photos and acrylics of numerous famous people, and, of course, the Campbell soup cans.
We were supposed to be picked up at 1:30 for our airport ride. Connie and Enzo were picked up at 1:20, but that driver didn't have our name. At 1:40, I had the concierge call the emergency number. He consoled us in the Chinese style - someones coming, caught in traffic, just around the corner, etc. But it was clear that they had forgotten us and had called a new driver to pick us up. We started out 1/2 an hour late, but traffic was negligible, so we were at the airport two hours before our flight. But that didn't stop us from getting nervous all the way there.

Qing Dynasty Vase (18th century)

It was a twelve hour flight to Los Angeles and we had a four hour window to make our 5:55 PM flight to Denver. But it started raining in Hong Kong with lightning, forcing the workers off the tarmac. We alternated between sunshine and lightning three times before they finally loaded the last bags and we took off - 2 1/2 hours late.
When we arrived in LA, we had 90 minutes to get through immigration, get our bags, change terminals, check-in, and catch our plane. Thank goodness our bags were among the first - we ran (or as close to it as we could with six pieces of luggage) to the transfer shuttle. We arrived at the ticket counter with 40 minutes until take-off. There was no else in line. We were five minutes past 'last bag check-in' time, but they took our bags anyway and didn't charge us. They gave us instructions on how to get to the gate in the shortest possible time. The security line was short, but Mary's knee required a personal pat-down. Past security, we found a cart, he took us and our carry-ons, and rushed us to the gate - we were the last to board the plane. Two hours later we arrived in Denver and so did our luggage. Yeah!
So how do we summarize the trip? The stays in Singapore and Hong Kong were expensive, but we were centrally located, next to the action. But we could have seen most of what we saw by taking the ships excursions. The ship's itinerary was great - two days in each port allowed us to do multiple tours. The only problem was the distance of the ports to the major sites: lots of 2-3 hour bus trips each way. Celebrity Cruises had the friendliest crew and the largest entree' selection we've seen. We were particularly impressed that one of the cocktail waitresses, took our order once. The next 3times we ordered from her, she knew our names and our drink preferences. Amazing!

 But desserts and soups were substandard and drinks more expensive (and not that good), and we missed the on-board laundry facilities.
If you'd like to see more pictures and videos of this trip, just to go to youtube for a 17 minute video.
Vietnam was really interesting: the guides really helped us understand its history. HaLong Bay was the hit of the tours as I expected. Of course, what made all these adventures special was that we got to share the experience with five other friends.



Enzo, Connie, Cindy, Paul, Bob, and Mary

Hong Kong Island

We decided to do a half day tour of Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong consists of 260 islands plus a peninsula of the mainland. All told it is seven million people on 1100 square km. Hong Kong island itself is 1.2 million people in 18 square km. Most of the manufacturing jobs have left Hong Kong for the mainland's cheaper labor. Ninety percent of the jobs now are in the service industries: retail, hotels, finance, etc. Unemployment is only 3.5%.

View from Victoria Peak to Financial District

We took the funicular, built in 1898 to the top of Victoria Peak (554m). From here as you faced north, the finance district was below us with Kowloon across the harbor. Everywhere you look are high rise buildings. But from the other side looking east we see trees in Pok Fu Lam County Park, the South China Sea and a reservoir.
We travelled further to Aberdeen fishing village. What we saw was a town with many high rise buildings. The fishing village is on the water, small fishing boats, a few house boats, and many fishing trawlers. Most of the people have been moved to the high rises over time, but at one point four thousand people lived on their boats. Now, however, because of land reclamation, the harbor is much smaller. We tour the harbor on a motorized Sampan to see the boats and the two large floating restaurants.

Floating Restaurant at Aberdeen

After the obligatory jewelery shop stop, we went to the Stanley market. Lots of booths selling about everything, but it seemed more touristy than yesterday's markets. On this side of the island there are quite a few beaches and a few mansions belonging to the richest men in Hong Kong. The landscape is full of contrasts: forested areas in the hills followed by towns with lots of high rises.
In the evening we watch the laser and light show on forty building along the harbor. No Disney spectacular, but it was different!

Hong Kong Shopping

We transferred from the ship to our hotel, the Langham, right off the shore front in Kowloon. We're with Enzo and Connie. We decided to walk Nathan Road, the major high end shopping district here. We walked about two miles down to the 'Ladie's Market' about four blocks of booths selling purses, blouses, shoes, etc. On the way back we stopped at the Jade Market, lots of booths selling pearls and jade. By the time we walked back to our hotel we were exhausted. We went out to dinner along the waterfront. The food was delicious, but the service was really poor, and we struggled to find someone who spoke English.

Shopping the Ladie's Market

Macao

Our arrival in Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong about 7 AM to be greeted by fire boats hurling water into the air, a swarm of reporters as well as drummers with dancing dragons. Apparently, we are the first ship to dock at their new ship terminal, built at the site of the old airport. The terminal nominally won't be finished until June (though they hadn't even finished the exterior yet, so I think that is optimistic). The Queen Victoria bumped us from the current ship terminal, which turned out to be 1 block from our hotel, the Langham).
We had a 45 minute trip to the ferry terminal on Hong Kong Island and then an hour jet ferry ride to Macao. This is the former Portuguese colony, returned to China in 1999. Half a million people live in 28 square miles. Two-thirds of the land has been reclaimed from the sea.
We started our tour at the Museum of Macao, built in an old fortification. Here was the story of Macao from 1553, when the Portuguese landed in a tiny fishing village and established this as a way station for trade with China and Japan.
After our museum visit we walked to the nearby front facade of St. Paul's, destroyed three times by fire, the last in 1835. We walked through the shopping district to another church, St. Dominic's, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.

Father Bob and Mary in front of St. Paul's

From there we drove to A-ma temple, a Daoist temple dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea. This is located where the Portuguese first landed. Our surprise lunch was at the top of the Macao Tower, 60th floor. Here we had a great lunch buffet while watching Macao rotate beneath us. Final stop was the MGM Grand Casino, one of thirty-six in Macao. These casinos generate 6-7 times the gross receipts of Las Vegas, and have become the number one industry on the island.

Macao's version of Plymouth Rock

Hanoi

Farmer and local graves

From HaLong Bay to Hanoi is a 3 1/2 hour bus trip, three hours on a two-lane road plus a half hour for rest rooms and shopping. The narrow (4M), long (15M) three story housing is even more predominant here then it was in the South. Most have a shop in the bottom floor and house multiple generations above. Almost the entire trip was spent traversing villages with rice crops between the towns. It was transplanting time for the rice, so we saw a lot of


farmers in the water with their conical hats (very useful for sun shade, carrying your lunch, fanning yourself or dipping water).
Hanoi has been the capital since about 1000 AD. It lies along the Red river which was pretty dry today, but has historically flooded often.
Our guide was superb, telling us about life in Vietnam. Her husband's father was a South Vietnamese government official, who didn't escape when the South fell. His son couldn't get an education, join the army or work for the government because of his father. His son will also be restricted because the government looks for 3 generations of loyalty. She had a traditional wedding: the first day in traditional red dress with her family, the second day in a western white dress celebrating with both families. The date was selected by a Buddhist monk based on the time of her birth.
Similarly funerals are two day affairs. The body lies in the house of the first day and then is buried on the second day at a time selected by the monks. The spouse will pray three times a day for one hundred days in mourning. The body will be reburied after three years, the bones rearranged in an ornate tomb.

Temple of Knowledge

We walked the old town: lots of narrow streets with stores on all sides and motorcycles everywhere.
Our next stop was the Temple of Literature built in 1070 by Emperor Ly. This is a Confucian temple where (as in our story) people studied to become Mandarin.Around the temple are 82 turtles bearing plaques with the 1040 names of the graduates who passed the highest level of exams from 1000 to 1922. The visit was enhanced because we had graduates of the University of Hanoi in their traditional robes and dresses getting their graduation pictures taken.

University of Hanoi Graduate

After lunch, we went to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and independence square. Nearby is the Presidential Palace built by the French and a short distance from there is the House on Stilts used by Ho Chi Minh from 1954 until his death in 1959. Finally we saw the Pagoda on a Column originally built by the emperor to celebrate the birth of a son.
Then onto the bus for another 3 1/2 hour trip to the ship, arriving about 7:30 PM. Dinner was pizza.

Ha Long Bay

Entering HaLong Bay

In the morning, the ship traversed the limestone formations of HaLong Bay. The name of the bay  means "where the dragon descends into the sea", an appropriate name. We reached our mooring outside the city of HaLong about 1 PM. All the local touring boats engaged in a battle for space alongside the ship for our tour. The bay has 1600 unnamed and 968 named islands within 1500 square kilometers. Out tour took us to Thien Cung Cave, a large cave which can hold 400 people at a time. The cave reminded me of Carlsbad Caverns because of the colored lights used to highlight the limestone formations inside. While there were lots of steps, everything was well paved to make it easy for tourists to visit.

Thien Cung Cave

After our cave visit, we sailed through more of the islands including a floating fishing village. Of course, the fisherman came alongside our boat to sell us fruit. The children were adept at climbing aboard and asking for money. The rock formations were beautiful as we cruised between the islands.

Floating Fishing Village

Hue'

Imperial City of Hue'

After a day at sea, today we reach the imperial city of Hue', home to the kings of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945. We spent most of the morning inside the citadel built between 1805 and 1832. The Citadel was of French design. Within the Citadel was Vietnam's version of the Forbidden City (in Beijing). This was the residence of all thirteen kings during this era. The city was 70% destroyed between the battles in 1945 and the 1967 Tet Offensive. It is slowly being restored with an expected completion in 2025. The palace was built according to Feng Shui with a balance between water, winds and the mountains. After passing through the main gate, we came to the Harmony Palace or audience room. The red and yellow colors of royalty abounded. Throughout the grounds were brass urns commemorating victories as well as serving as a source of water in case of fire. Throughout are figures of dragons, symbolizing the power of the king. When we came to the queen's quarter's we encountered the symbol of the Phoenix.
Our next stop was Thien Mu (Heavenly Lady) Pagoda built in 1601. It is seven stories high, representing the seven steps of Buddha's enlightment. On one side was a turtle bearing a plaque and on the other, a huge bell with a water monster on top. In the back was a monastery with the tomb of the monk who built the pagoda.

Heavenly Pagoda

After a delicious Vietnamese lunch at the Century Hotel featuring pancakes with peanut sauce and spring rolls, we went to Tu Duc Tomb. This is the tomb of the fourth king of Vietnam, but not only was it his tomb, it was his residence for 16 years, since he was very long-lived. It was a beautiful place with waterways, a tea house, the king's residence, and the tomb. Thought it appears that his body was hidden elsewhere.
A long, but interesting day.

Tu Duc Tomb Grounds